Hey there đ,
Welcome to the second edition of Anticynical! I introduced what being anticynical means to me in the previous edition.
The idea in todayâs edition is environment design.
Idea: Environment Design
In a nutshell: make good things easy to do and bad things hard to do.
I live in a tiny apartment. But I have a lot of fitness equipment relative to such a small space: a Peloton bike, a pull-up bar, gym rings, dip bars, a pair of quick-adjustable dumbbells,1 an exercise bench, yoga mats, a foam roller, and resistance bands. When Iâm working out, more than 50% of my living room space is occupied by âgym objects.â
My mom is confused by my choices. âWhy are you turning your home into a gym? Donât you have a gym at work? [Yes, I do] Why not just go there? And arenât there any gyms close to your home? [Yes, there are]â
Mom, humans are irrational, and by extension, so am I.
But we can be deliberate in designing our environment in a way that promotes rational behavior and help channel our irrationality in useful ways. In Dan Arielyâs words from his book Predictably Irrational:2
Understanding irrationality is important for our everyday actions and decisions, and for understanding how we design our environment and the choices it presents to us.
For reasons I donât quite understand, I detest going to the gym. I also hate it when I want to use a specific piece of equipment, say, a squatting rack, but none are available at that moment.
I (the rational part) realize both those things are just minor inconveniences. But there have been instances where Iâve skipped workouts simply because
I felt too lazy to walk to the gym, or
when I knew the gym was likely to be crowded and I wouldnât always get the equipment I wanted.
In this sense, there is a disconnect between the actual effort vs. the psychological effort required for a given activity. For example, meditating for five minutes regularly needs little actual effortâyou literally have to do nothing. But the slew of people who have failed to build such a simple (not easy) habit is a testament to the much higher associated psychological effort.
Since regular exercise and fitness are very important to me, Iâve designed my environment to make exercising as easy as possible. Even if it costs me more $$ in the beginning, a regular exercise habit is worth it.
Another example: I try my best to not keep junk food at home. If I crave a soft and chocolaty cookie, I must get it from a store. Then 99 out of 100 times, the chore of having to get it from a store is enough to fizzle out my craving. However, if cookies exist in my home, 7 out of 10 times, Iâll eat more than I should, even when I know better.
Your environment shapes you regardless of whether you shape it or not. Your default environment may be making it harder to be the best version of yourself. Why not try to design your environment to work for you, not against you?
Question: What is one skill you don't currently have and wish you did?
Wish you could do a handstand? A split? Wish you just had more flexibility? Or do you wish you knew how to run a business? Or how to build a company from scratch?
Optional bonus question: what is preventing you from acquiring that skill?
Iâd love to hear from youâŠ
Is it your first time reading/hearing about environment design?
What are some ways in which you currently design your environment? Or ways in which you plan to do so?
What skill did you think of?
Or anything else at all. Just hit reply.
A dumbbell whose weight can be adjusted in ~5s by rotating the discs on the sides. This is what one looks like.
I highly recommend the book.